Dance Video Research Articles

Should You Watch Dance Documentaries? Only if you want to be inspired and informed about the dance world

Should you watch dance documentaries? Only if you want to be inspired and informed about the dance world As you graze through the good, the bad, and the ugly dance clips on YouTube, consider the benefits of watching Paul Taylor’s company in Dancemaker—it’s one of the ways you find out about the past and your possible future by Savannah Reach Should dance documentaries be required for dance majors to watch? Some students say that documentaries are useful in learning about choreographers and leading figures in the dance field. Others think they are boring and a waste of time when there are numerous “popular” choreographers available on YouTube. After considering it, I strongly believe that documentaries should be required for dance majors to watch. In particular, I am advocating for Dancemaker, which is a tribute to Paul Taylor. One of the prominent artists of the 20 th and 21 st Centuries, Taylor has choreographed over 140 dances and helped shape the art of modern dance in America. Taylor is an important figure in the dance world, and Dancemaker gives a unique insight into his significance. Documentaries can be long and students might not understand how they relate to what they want to do in the future. They would rather spend hours on YouTube watching the coolest competition kids or the newest tricks to achieve over-splits. These students struggle to find the reasons documentaries are required in class and lack motivation to watch them. What they don’t understand is that dance documentaries can provide a deeper understanding of choreographers, such as Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, and Pina Bausch. By watching their choreography, students can learn what has been successful in the past and compare it to their own work. Even though YouTube provides a vast amount of options for the dance student, the quality of videos on YouTube is often bad, with amateurs posting as many dance videos as professionals. It can take hours searching through mediocre dancing to find an inspirational video. Plus, there are annoying ads on YouTube and multiple distractions of other videos popping up on the side. Documentaries provide a well-developed story with potential to catch the eye of aspiring professional dancers for long enough to follow the narrative arc. It creates an outlet for students to understand another dance culture, follow a dance company on tour, or see a dance style they have never heard of before. These perspectives are important for the dancers to become well-rounded individuals in the art of dance so they can not only dance, but can also have meaningful, intelligent conversations about their field. For serious dancers, Dancemaker shows what makes Paul Taylor the recipient of nearly every honor and award given to artists in the United States. The details are shown throughout the documentary, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. If students are interested in creating dance for film, this documentary is a perfect source to learn about techniques such as transitions, camera angles, and interview methods. The documentary also gives students insight on what is required to be in a dance company or to run one. It follows rehearsals, traveling on tour, auditions, and the choreographic process. Taylor’s money management team is also filmed to give an idea of the funding fluctuations that affect dance productions and salaries.

Motor-Cognitive Intervention in Mexican Older Adults

Two motor-cognitive interventions were implemented to evaluate their efficacy in cognitive improvement in Mexican older adults 65 years and more. The intervention group received a dance video games plus a cognitive task (dual-task); the comparison group received only the dance video game, in sessions of 45 minutes, 3 times a week, for 12 weeks. The Barthel Index and Lawton and Brody Index, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised were applied the Digit Span Test, the Stroop Test, and Color Trail Making. Gait parameters were assessed by GAITRite? electronic walkway (CIR Systems). The design was quasi-experimental. Sites were randomly assigned to intervention groups. The intervention group started with 32 participants and finished with 15; the comparison group started with 20 participants and finished with 18. Participants in the intervention group had to mimic the dance movement of a video game and, after the second week to name progressively three objects without stopping dancing. A multivariate repeated measures model (MANO-VA) was fit with four variables. A time-by-group interaction was observed in the Stroop test, and Digits Span Backwards was in favor of the dual task group. The Stroop test, Digit Span Backwards, gait speed, and step length showed effect time. Both groups improved in gait speed and step length by the end of the intervention. Results show it is feasible for Mexican older adults with little schooling to perform dual tasks and improve cognitive tasks and gait speed. Limitations were high attrition due to unforeseen situations and small sample size.

Product-structure analysis of a dance video: Implications for appreciation in a physical education class

Product-structure analysis of a dance video: Implications for appreciation in a physical education class

UPAYA PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN MENARI TARI TOPENG GUNUNGSARI PADA MAHASISWA JURUSAN PENDIDIKAN SENI TARI DENGAN PENDEKATAN APRESIASI SENI DAN LATIHAN SECARA RUTIN

The research was purposed to make efforts to improve Dance Education Department student dancing abilities of Topeng Gunungsari Dance by Art Appreciation method and practiced routinely . The research used design models which were developed by Kemmis & Mc. Taggart consisted of four components included; planning, action, observation, and reflection. The researchers planned and established action types which would be done, that were; student practiced together by masks, and watched a Topeng Gunungsari Dance performance by video recording routinely. The research result of dance studying was that by the practiced and watched a Topeng Gunungsari Dance video recording routinely could improve dancing abilities of Topeng Gunungsari dance. Key words: dancing ability, art appreciation, routine practice.

머스 커닝햄과 로버트 라우센버그의 협업 연구

다양한 장르의 결합은 부단 최근의 진행된 새로운 경향이 아니다. 각 분야의 한계와 새로운 모색을 위하여, 혹은 한계를 넘어 이전과는 전혀 다른 비젼과 새로움을 지향하는 하나의 발로이다. 이에 공연예술에서 1960년대 전후로 선두적인 작업을 진행한 머스 커닝햄과 로버트 라우센버그의 협업 작업에 주목한다. 두 작가의 예술적 협업은 공연예술에서는 이전과 다른 새로운 개념과 실행하는 선도적 작업으로 기록된다. 예측할 수 없는 즉흥적 만남을 통한 우연성의 발로와 혁신적인 실험을 통해 무용과 회화의 새로운 가능성을 타진해 본다. 두 사람의 결별 이후에는 머스 커닝햄은 극장이라는 공간에서 컴퓨터 공간인 가상 공간에서 진행되는 비디오 댄스로, 그리고 로버트 라우센버그는 컴바인이라는 새로운 자신의 예술적 개념을 창출한다. 이에 1954년부터 1964년까지 진행된 협업 작업에서 두 예술가에게 예술적 의미가 존재했던 작품을 중심으로 어떻게 우연성, 비영속성, 무정형의 개념을 실질적으로 산출했는지를 연구한다. The inter-disciplinarity in arts is not confined to recent issues. It has been sought to exceed the boundaries of each genre for the novelty and vision different from before. Among those efforts, this thesis focuses on the collaboration of Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg who were leading artists in 1960s. Their collaborative works marked with innovative concepts ever in performing arts. They pursued new possibilities in both dance and painting through reformist experiments of chance operation, or improvisational encounters of the unexpected. After the end of their collaboration, they developed their own artistic creations such as Cunningham's shifting from theater to video dance executed in virtual space of computer and Rauschenberg's new "Combines" series. This study examines how the two artists practically embodied the concepts of chance, impermanence and formlessness, centering around their meaningful collaborations from 1954 to 1964.

Motor learning and modulation of prefrontal cortex: an fNIRS assessment

Objective. Prefrontal hemodynamic responses are observed during performance of motor tasks. Using a dance video game (DVG), a complex motor task that requires temporally accurate footsteps with given visual and auditory cues, we investigated whether 20 h of DVG training modified hemodynamic responses of the prefrontal cortex in six healthy young adults. Approach. Fronto-temporal activity during actual DVG play was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) pre- and post-training. To evaluate the training-induced changes in the time-courses of fNIRS signals, we employed a regression analysis using the task-specific template fNIRS signals that were generated from alternate well-trained and/or novice DVG players. The HRF was also separately incorporated as a template to construct an alternate regression model. Change in coefficients for template functions at pre- and post- training were determined and compared among different models. Main results. Training significantly increased the motor performance using the number of temporally accurate steps in the DVG as criteria. The mean oxygenated hemoglobin (ΔoxyHb) waveform changed from an activation above baseline pattern to that of a below baseline pattern. Participants showed significantly decreased coefficients for regressors of the ΔoxyHb response of novice players and HRF. The model using ΔoxyHb responses from both well-trained and novice players of DVG as templates showed the best fit for the ΔoxyHb responses of the participants at both pre- and post-training when analyzed with Akaike information criteria. Significance. These results suggest that the coefficients for the template ΔoxyHb responses of the novice players are sensitive indicators of motor learning during the initial stage of training and thus clinically useful to determine the improvement in motor performance when patients are engaged in a specific rehabilitation program.

FMRI Validation of fNIRS Measurements During a Naturalistic Task

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced version of the task using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Recently, it has been shown that fNIRS can accurately record functional brain activities equivalent to those concurrently recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging for classic psychophysical tasks and simple finger tapping paradigms. However, an often quoted benefit of fNIRS is that the technique allows for studying neural mechanisms of complex, naturalistic behaviors that are not possible using the constrained environment of fMRI. Our goal was to extend the findings of previous studies that have shown high correlation between concurrently recorded fNIRS and fMRI signals to compare neural recordings obtained in fMRI procedures to those separately obtained in naturalistic fNIRS experiments. Specifically, we developed a modified version of the dance video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to be compatible with both fMRI and fNIRS imaging procedures. In this methodology we explain the modifications to the software and hardware for compatibility with each technique as well as the scanning and calibration procedures used to obtain representative results. The results of the study show a task-related increase in oxyhemoglobin in both modalities and demonstrate that it is possible to replicate the findings of fMRI using fNIRS in a naturalistic task. This technique represents a methodology to compare fMRI imaging paradigms which utilize a reduced-world environment to fNIRS in closer approximation to naturalistic, full-body activities and behaviors. Further development of this technique may apply to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, late states of dementia, or those with magnetic susceptibility which are contraindicated for fMRI scanning.

FMRI Validation of fNIRS Measurements During a Naturalistic Task

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced version of the task using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Recently, it has been shown that fNIRS can accurately record functional brain activities equivalent to those concurrently recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging for classic psychophysical tasks and simple finger tapping paradigms. However, an often quoted benefit of fNIRS is that the technique allows for studying neural mechanisms of complex, naturalistic behaviors that are not possible using the constrained environment of fMRI. Our goal was to extend the findings of previous studies that have shown high correlation between concurrently recorded fNIRS and fMRI signals to compare neural recordings obtained in fMRI procedures to those separately obtained in naturalistic fNIRS experiments. Specifically, we developed a modified version of the dance video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to be compatible with both fMRI and fNIRS imaging procedures. In this methodology we explain the modifications to the software and hardware for compatibility with each technique as well as the scanning and calibration procedures used to obtain representative results. The results of the study show a task-related increase in oxyhemoglobin in both modalities and demonstrate that it is possible to replicate the findings of fMRI using fNIRS in a naturalistic task. This technique represents a methodology to compare fMRI imaging paradigms which utilize a reduced-world environment to fNIRS in closer approximation to naturalistic, full-body activities and behaviors. Further development of this technique may apply to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, late states of dementia, or those with magnetic susceptibility which are contraindicated for fMRI scanning.

"Just Dance": The Effects of Exergame Feedback and Controller Use on Physical Activity and Psychological Outcomes.

In Asia, dance games are among the most popular types of exergames. Whereas traditional dance-based games emphasize step movements on a dance pad, more recent dance games emphasize intuitive dance movements using simple controllers or players' own bodies to "just dance." However, because of limited space and access, young adults in Taiwan often do not use these games. Popular dance videos on YouTube are more readily available to students because these videos can be accessed on a computer. Therefore, the current study examines the effects of interactivity (the role of feedback) and controller use on participants' physiological and psychological outcomes during exergames. The dance game "Just Dance 3" (Ubisoft, Montreuil, France) was chosen as the stimulus for this study. Participants danced through one song for rehearsal and warm-up, followed by three songs for the experiment, which lasted approximately 12 minutes. One hundred twenty-nine college students participated in a 2×2×2 (interactivity, feedback versus no feedback; controller, with versus without; sex, male versus female) between-subject factorial design. A series of 2×2×2 (interactivity, controller, and sex) analyses of variance showed no significant differences in interaction effects on participants' heart rates, blood pressures, body movements, step counts, or perceived psychological outcomes. Dance game videos without feedback are also effective tools for achieving moderate-level exercise intensity. These videos can supplement the limited access to games in Asian countries, such as Taiwan.

Incoded Counter-Conduct: Technologies of Resistance and Conditions of Incarceration

This paper reviews penal history in order to consider forms of resistance to mass surveillance. Because experiences of surveillance are endemic to incarcerated life, identifying tactics of resistance among these populations provides valuable insights for potential forms of counter-conduct in other circumstances of ubiquitous monitoring. We introduce the term incodification as a means of describing conditions of continuous surveillance ingrained into infrastructures of everyday life, even as these conditions give rise to tactics of resistance. We focus on three forms of protest: hunger strikes, alternate communication networks and viral dance videos, drawing on Foucault’s theory of askesis in order to develop our understanding of incodification. Our objective in introducing this term, and with our analysis as a whole, is to provoke and promote theoretical and activist projects that both address and subvert infrastructures of incodification.

Does A Virtual Reality-Based Dance Training Paradigm Increase Balance Control in Chronic Stroke Survivors? A Preliminary Study

Background Purpose: To examine the feasibility and effect of a virtual reality - based dance training paradigm in improving balance control and physical activity levels. Method: Community-dwelling individuals with hemiparetic stroke (N=11) received a virtual reality - based dance paradigm for 6-weeks using the commercially available Kinect dance video game “Just Dance 3”. The change in balance control was evaluated by the Limits of Stability test (Neurocom Inc.). The post-training changes in self-initiated center of pressure response time (RT), the movement velocity (MV), the maximum excursion (MXE) were examined. Changes in physical activity during dance training were assessed using Omran HJ-321 Tri-Axis Pedometer. The gaming scores were recorded from the Kinect software after each game (during training). Result: Post-training the RT was significantly reduced (pre vs. post, p<0.05). Similarly, post-training, MV and MXE were significantly higher (p<0.05). Number of steps during dance intervention significantly increased from the 1st to the 20th session (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results validate the feasibility of this short duration high-intensity protocol for improving balance control and physical activity in chronic stroke survivors.

Virtual reality using games for improving physical functioning in older adults: a systematic review.

The use of virtual reality through exergames or active video game, i.e. a new form of interactive gaming, as a complementary tool in rehabilitation has been a frequent focus in research and clinical practice in the last few years. However, evidence of their effectiveness is scarce in the older population. This review aim to provide a summary of the effects of exergames in improving physical functioning in older adults. A search for randomized controlled trials was performed in the databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsyInfo, Cochrane data base, PEDro and ISI Web of Knowledge. Results from the included studies were analyzed through a critical review and methodological quality by the PEDro scale. Thirteen studies were included in the review. The most common apparatus for exergames intervention was the Nintendo Wii gaming console (8 studies), followed by computers games, Dance video game with pad (two studies each) and only one study with the Balance Rehabilitation Unit. The Timed Up and Go was the most frequently used instrument to assess physical functioning (7 studies). According to the PEDro scale, most of the studies presented methodological problems, with a high proportion of scores below 5 points (8 studies). The exergames protocols and their duration varied widely, and the benefits for physical function in older people remain inconclusive. However, a consensus between studies is the positive motivational aspect that the use of exergames provides. Further studies are needed in order to achieve better methodological quality, external validity and provide stronger scientific evidence.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-156) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Media in performance - the Subway project

The collaborative media-art project Subway combines the mediation of a dance performance with interactive digital technology toward a new performative feedback loop. In a response to the restrictive practices regarding dancing in public in Iran, Subway applies digital technology to connect performers in the USA with those in Iran. Together, they create a new mediatised performance. The piece uses digital technology to break a dance video documentation into individual frames, which become the basis for a cell phone application that allows performers in Iran to re-enact individual poses. Finally, each pose is sent back and re-assembled in the documentation of the shared event. The text outlines the background of this work, its implementation, as well as the particular condition for the socio-technological context, and ongoing and future work. Subway is presented as a piece of experimental media performance art that integrates technology in a transformative way as it answers given cultural challenges.

Event Segmentation and Biological Motion Perception in Watching Dance

We used a combination of behavioral, computational vision and fMRI methods to examine human brain activity while viewing a 386 s video of a solo Bharatanatyam dance. A computational analysis provided us with a Motion Index (MI) quantifying the silhouette motion of the dancer throughout the dance. A behavioral analysis using 30 naïve observers provided us with the time points where observers were most likely to report event boundaries where one movement segment ended and another began. These behavioral and computational data were used to interpret the brain activity of a different set of 11 naïve observers who viewed the dance video while brain activity was measured using fMRI. Results showed that the Motion Index related to brain activity in a single cluster in the right Inferior Temporal Gyrus (ITG) in the vicinity of the Extrastriate Body Area (EBA). Perception of event boundaries in the video was related to the BA44 region of right Inferior Frontal Gyrus as well as extensive clusters of bilateral activity in the Inferior Occipital Gyrus which extended in the right hemisphere towards the posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS).

Active Screen Time Among U.S. Youth Aged 9-18 Years, 2009.

This study documented the prevalence of active screen time (i.e., screen time that includes active games, exercise or dance videos, or TV exercise programs) and identified characteristics associated with it among youth 9-18 years of age. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 1,165 youth using the 2009 Styles Surveys; data were weighted to approximate the Current Population Survey. We calculated descriptive statistics and conducted multivariable logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with active screen time by estimating adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs). The sample comprised 51.4 percent boys, and almost 60 percent were non-Hispanic white. The prevalence of active screen time ≥1 hour/day was 31.2 percent on a typical school day and 41.6 percent on a typical weekend day. Logistic regression revealed youth with physical activity of 3-5 days/week had higher odds of active screen time ≥1 hour/day compared with youth with no physical activity (aOR school day=2.8, 95 percent CI 1.5-5.2; aOR weekend day=2.3, 95 percent CI 1.4-3.9). Certain characteristics (i.e., sex, age group, race/ethnicity, income, and sedentary screen time) were significantly associated with active screen time ≥1 hour/day, but associations were inconsistent for school and weekend days. Three in 10 youth are engaging in at least 1 hour of active screen time on school days, and about 4 in 10 youth are engaging in at least one hour on weekend days. Understanding the use of active screen time and associated characteristics are important for developing interventions addressing screen time and physical activity.

Three Degrees of “G”s: How an Airbag Deployment Sensor Transformed Video Games, Exercise, and Dance

Three Degrees of “G”s: How an Airbag Deployment Sensor Transformed Video Games, Exercise, and Dance

Screendance: Inscribing the Ephemeral Image by Douglas Rosenberg; Dancefilm: Choreography and the Moving Image by Erin Brannigan

Over the years, screendance has generated flurries of interest within the scholarly dance community, only to watch that interest wane again and again with shifting academic trends. The past decade, however, has seen a slow-churning energy that may result in a more sustainable conversation around dance onscreen, much of which has been fueled by screendance artists and programmers themselves. A number of volumes of interest to academia have emerged as screendance artists have made homes for themselves in university settings. For makers of dance onscreen, Katrina McPherson's Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen (2006) and Karen Pearlman's Cutting Rhythms: Shaping the Film Edit (2009) are especially noteworthy. After Sherril Dodds's important historical and analytical book Dance on Screen: Genres and Media from Hollywood to Experimental Art (2001), however, screendance scholarship was not positioned to capitalize and build on Dodds's provocation. Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie's edited collection Anarchic Dance (2006) offers a wonderful model for gathering together the creative work of a team of artists and scholarly writing about their work, but like Envisioning Dance on Film and Video (2002), a collection that was pulled together under Judy Mitoma's direction, the tone is somewhat self-congratulatory and the analysis is tepid. Finally, two books have come out that will stand alongside Dodds's to re-ignite conversations in the screendance field and in Dance Studies generally, and will do so in a generative and critical way: Douglas Rosenberg's Screendance: Inscribing the Ephemeral Image (2012) and Erin Brannigan's Dancefilm: Choreography and the Moving Image (2011).

Children's Physical Activity Levels During Indoor Recess Dance Videos

Children's physical activity (PA) levels remain low, and schools are being asked to assume a leadership role in PA promotion. Research suggests outdoor recess contributes to children's overall PA levels. However, similar research is not available for indoor recess, which occurs frequently due to a variety of factors. The purpose of this study was to describe PA levels and intensity during indoor recess using PA dance videos. Fifty-four children (27 girls) wore accelerometers for 5 days during indoor recess. Factorial analyses of variance were conducted to examine the differences in PA between sexes and across grades. Participants averaged 17.66 (SD = 2.82) minutes in indoor recess. On average, 22.22% (SD = 12.72) was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 45.70% (SD = 11.29) of time was spent in low-intensity physical activity (LPA) totaling 67.92% (SD = 16.54) of total recess time. Boys accumulated a higher percentage of MVPA and total PA compared to girls. Students engaged in PA 68% of indoor recess time, equaling almost 12 minutes of PA during recess. Results suggest PA dance videos are 1 effective method for increasing elementary children's PA during indoor recess as an alternative to sedentary activities.

A cognitive-motor intervention using a dance video game to enhance foot placement accuracy and gait under dual task conditions in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundComputer-based interventions have demonstrated consistent positive effects on various physical abilities in older adults. This study aims to compare two training groups that achieve similar amounts of strength and balance exercise where one group receives an intervention that includes additional dance video gaming. The aim is to investigate the different effects of the training programs on physical and psychological parameters in older adults.MethodsThirty-one participants (mean age ± SD: 86.2 ± 4.6 years), residents of two Swiss hostels for the aged, were randomly assigned to either the dance group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 16). The dance group absolved a twelve-week cognitive-motor exercise program twice weekly that comprised progressive strength and balance training supplemented with additional dance video gaming. The control group performed only the strength and balance exercises during this period. Outcome measures were foot placement accuracy, gait performance under single and dual task conditions, and falls efficacy.ResultsAfter the intervention between-group comparison revealed significant differences for gait velocity (U = 26, P = .041, r = .45) and for single support time (U = 24, P = .029, r = .48) during the fast walking dual task condition in favor of the dance group. No significant between-group differences were observed either in the foot placement accuracy test or in falls efficacy.ConclusionsThere was a significant interaction in favor of the dance video game group for improvements in step time. Significant improved fast walking performance under dual task conditions (velocity, double support time, step length) was observed for the dance video game group only. These findings suggest that in older adults a cognitive-motor intervention may result in more improved gait under dual task conditions in comparison to a traditional strength and balance exercise program.Trial registrationThis trial has been registered under ISRCTN05350123 ( http://www.controlled-trials.com)

Acquisition of multimedia ontology: an application in preservation of cultural heritage

A domain-specific ontology models a specific domain or part of the world. In fact, ontologies have proven to be an excellent medium for capturingpagebreak the knowledge of a domain. We propose an ontology learning scheme in this paper which combines standard multimedia analysis techniques with knowledge drawn from conceptual meta-data to learn a domain-specific multimedia ontology from a set of annotated examples. A standard machine-learning algorithm that learns structure and parameters of a Bayesian network is extended to include media observables in the learning. An expert group provides domain knowledge to construct a basic ontology of the domain as well as to annotate a set of training videos. These annotations help derive the associations between high-level semantic concepts of the domain and low-level media features. We construct a more robust and refined version of the basic ontology by learning from this set of conceptually annotated data. We show an application of our ontology-based framework for exploration of multimedia content, in the field of cultural heritage preservation. By constructing an ontology for the cultural heritage domain of Indian classical dance, and by offering an application for semantic annotation of the heritage collection of Indian dance videos, we demonstrate the efficacy of ou approach.